Amid the controversy surrounding the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) of Delhi University, UGC has issued a notice to all vice chancellors saying no university shall confer a degree in violation of UGC Act.

It said if a university wishes to award a degree other than the one specified by UGC, it would have to approach UGC for its approval six months prior to starting the degree programme with full justification for the course to be started.

"It shall be mandatory for the universities to adhere to the approved nomenclature of degrees and ensure the observence of minimum standards of instruction before award of a degree," the notice said.
The notice comes at a time when UGC has asked DU to review the controversial Four-Year Undergraduate Programme.

Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA), which is opposing FYUP, promptly interpreted the notice as an endorsement of the fact that DU has violated the UGC Act in starting FYUP.

In a statement, DUTA said "it appreciates UGC's candid acknowledgement of the fact that by not seeking its approval 6 months prior to the commencement of the programme, DU has violated the Section 22, Clause 3 of the UGC Act".

The full Commission meeting of UGC here yesterday felt the programme was in violation of the national policy on education which follows the 10-plus 2-plus 3 pattern.

"This university does enjoy autonomy but it has to obtain permission from the competent authority for the programme which in this case is the President (Visitor) itself," UGC officials who attended the meeting had said.

DUTA said it welcomes the decision of UGC to ask DU to review FYUP. It also said the deliberations at the UGC meeting yesterday has made it clear that the programme was being run "illegally".

"This offers sufficient cause to the Visitor to intervene using his powers under Section 31 (6) of the Delhi University Act and set aside the Ordinances related to FYUP without delay," the statement said.

In its notice on June 9, UGC has said some universities/institutes are awarding "unspecified" degrees leading to litigation and different problems for the students conferred with such degrees.
Even NET qualified candidates with such unspecified degrees are also denied their certificates.

It said contravention of provisions relating to specification of degrees shall render the defaulting university and its affiliated colleges liable for appropriate action by UGC.